It is common practice in the paper art to reinforce of the edge of a sheet subjected to considerable use or stress by applying a segment of a reinforcing film to the edge. A good example of such apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,698,114.
A serious limitation of this apparatus as well as with other similar apparatuses stems from the fact that separate standard sheets vary in length. As a result, the sequence of operations is frequently disturbed and the reinforced sheets are delivered with cut edges or with severed reinforcing-film segments having lengths greater than the sheets they are adhered to. Recalibrating the known machines for use with sheets of a different length is an onerous task involving resetting various cams, timers, stops, and the like.
Another disadvantage of the known machines is that the rely on complex timing and control equipment. Thus if a sheet jams the machine may continue to operate, spoiling numerous work-pieces and jamming itself with material. Alternately if there is a sheet misfeed and a sheet is not fed, the machine may shut down, waiting for an operator to fix the problem, if necessary, and restart it.